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Google chair, Eric Schmidt, recently raised eyebrows and also got a few unintentional laughs when he recently stated Google’s Android platform is more secure than Apple’s iPhone. His remarks came in the course of a question-and-answer session at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, according to ZDNet. A Gartner analyst said to Schmidt that most people in the in the audience would not name Android as their primary platform and went on to note the operating system’s notorious security problems. Schmidt said the following in his interview:

Not secure? It's more secure than the iPhone.

According to reports, Schmidt didn’t provide any further details on these remarks, instead going on to cite Android’s billion-strong activation numbers. This figure, he claimed, led to considerable real-world security testing. When the Gartner analyst again raised the issue toward the end of the session, Schmidt remained firm and gave the same response.

Over the years, Google has built new security features into its mobile platform but the number of malware attacks on Google’s operating system continues to grow. Apple’s iOS platform comparatively accounts for a small percentage of attacks, partly due to Apple’s strict control over the apps that are published in its App Store.

The enterprise segment in particular has noted that security gap and Apple continues to grow in the sector despite Android’s overall mobile market share lead. The addition of Touch ID, the iPhone 5S’ built-in biometric scanner, is seen by some as a means of expanding Apple’s security lead.

How do you feel about Eric Schmidt’s statement about Android being more secure than the iPhone?

That's a report on MALWARE. Malware doesn't exploit the system, it exploits the brains of stupid people.

Not saying that I actually agree with the idea that Android is more secure, after all, if you keep up with rooting/bootloader exploits in the Android world.... A new phone comes out, then like 2 weeks later or less there's a fully functional way to gain superuser access.

That is pretty damn sad though. 44% use Gingerbread or lower.... I know as soon as I got an Android (after having my iPhone 4S for over a year) I was like "EWWWWWW.... This is nasty" (It was on Gingerbread), then looked at my iPhone like "You are god," but then I installed CyanogenMod 9.2 and I really love Ice Cream Sandwich and newer OS revisions. Now I have a GS4 and I really like Android.

(For any potential haters, I still like iOS, but I just like Android slightly more, I might even get an iPhone again in the future. But to all the haters, don't start bashing Android until you get your own Android phone, and run a revision that isn't old, nasty, and full of holes. In other words, Android 4.0 or above before you let the bashing commence.)

This really is making me go into the problems of Android though. Android is like Linux (Other than the fact that it's based on Linux).

Google pushes out THEIR version of Android called AOSP into the world, then any random phone manufacturer picks it up, and adds their own tweaks and mods. Normally the end results is absolutely horrific and ugly and EVERYONE hates it. But AOSP is awesome. This is why if you ever get an Android, you make sure you have a bootloader exploit readily available, and put CyanogenMod on it (CyanogenMod is a distro of its own, but it's based heavily on AOSP, except with a few cool additions that are actually BETTER).

The argument against that is "Well, I want a phone that's cool by default." Well.... The iPhone isn't really that cool by default. Usually to get anything "cool" on it, you have to jailbreak it. I do like iOS by default, I used iOS5.0 stock for a few months, and iOS6.0 stock for a few months (Waiting on a jailbreak).

Here's the funny thing about that whole jailbreak scenario with Android. If you run a custom version of Android like CyanogenMod... You can update all you want, you can even update even MORE than the stock version your phone was running before usually. That's because it's like switching the OS on your computer, if you go from Windows to Linux, Windows system updates don't make your computer more horrible, but Linux updates make your computer more awesome. So, there's the irony of that part. I'm running Android 4.3 on my GS4, yet my stock Android revision is 4.2.2, and there's still no 4.3 update for it. Also, I can downgrade all I want, so screw APTickets and SHSH blobs that don't even work on newer phones. I can flash left right up and down without even having to use my PC.

Sorry about the rambling, I just needed to put that out into the iPhone world somewhere. I like iPhones, but Android isn't a bad choice either, people need to stop hating.

So, to wrap things up, Android is less secure because Google likes giving people options, phone manufacturers try to close those options up and lock people out. This results in worthless security. Because those options exist, and people don't know how to handle the OS they're given, this results in security "flaws."

Funny side note: Saurik, the beloved creator of Cydia put an app in the Android Market (It's doing horrible by the way, NO ONE is using mobile substrate to develop Oh well, we have a framework like Mobile Substrate now, it's called Xposed, and it's a pretty good rival to Substrate on iOS. Anyway, Saurik used Cydia Substrate (The one on Android) to make a patch available to the public that helped some of the security issues in Android (There's now the same patch available via Xposed).

Virus scanner for iPhone? Come on, that was pretty darn funny stuff. Of course the best thing about all this is, at least up to a year ago, Schmidt still used Blackberry instead of his own Android product. And Blackberry devices are very much secure, which is why they have the highest DOD rating. I'm not saying iOS isn't. But it's funny to watch Schmidt compare Apples and Oranges, yet all the while he's really eating nothing but Mangos!

Even when Iphone is also opensourced (jailbroken) you hardly ever see malware on cydia. They don't even compare in security

Don't understand why you're confusing Malware with security flaw. Yes, there's plenty of Malware in Google Play. Google doesn't screen it as much. But it is pretty easy for even the dumbest of people to realize "Hey... this looks kinda sketchy. Maybe I shouldn't install it."

Also "opensourced" it not a synonym for jailbroken. They don't even compare in meaning. <_<

Google and Samsung is trying so hard. If they think the droid is more secure or better, why keep attacking (and copying) Apple. If you have a good product then it will sell on its own without the bashing.
Be unique!

Just to point out, Apple has been copying Android for some time now. With iOS 4, there was the introduction of multitasking which Android has always been able to do. iOS 5 introduced notification center which is a clear copy of the notifications dropdown that once again has always been with android since the beginning. Same thing with the NC widgets (if they can even be considered as widgets) Android has the ability to place widgets right on the desktop and download more widgets while with iOS, they are only in NC and you can only have weather, stocks and share on Twitter and Facebook. Even though the 5S may of introduced a fingerprint scanner and iOS 7 introduced a radically changed interface, the iPhone still lags behind most modern high-end Android phones

Just to point out, Apple has been copying Android for some time now. With iOS 4, there was the introduction of multitasking which Android has always been able to do. iOS 5 introduced notification center which is a clear copy of the notifications dropdown that once again has always been with android since the beginning. Same thing with the NC widgets (if they can even be considered as widgets) Android has the ability to place widgets right on the desktop and download more widgets while with iOS, they are only in NC and you can only have weather, stocks and share on Twitter and Facebook. Even though the 5S may of introduced a fingerprint scanner and iOS 7 introduced a radically changed interface, the iPhone still lags behind most modern high-end Android phones

I agree with everything you're saying, but intend to build upon it. Also, the iOS7 multitasker looks like the one that Android has had since Android 4.0.

But that wasn't my point. My point was, it really doesn't matter who copied who. Who cares? Take your pick. Do you like the original, or the one that's been changed? Android has almost been completely proven to have started as a ripoff. There was a dude on the Apple board from Google who saw prototypes of iOS and the iPhone. iPhone was released 2007, Android was released 2008. Supposedly there's no way, given the amount of time Google had to work with, that they could've released Android so quickly if they ripped it off from the RELEASE. So supposedly the guy on the Apple board leaked information to Google, which they then used to rip stuff off for Android. Who knows, really, because originally Android and iOS were pretty different. Android looked like one of those generic crappy touch screen interfaces we'd been seeing for a while. Also, Android was started in 2004, Google didn't buy them until a few years later. So they already had a base to build from.

But, building on my point, without Android iOS would have no competition. Without iOS, Android may or may not have even existed. Companies need to compete to keep the user happy and also to move forward. Even if Android STARTED as a rip off, in my opinion... it's kinda better now, and is definitely a lot different than iOS. (Although they still keep ripping things off back and forth. Apple rips, Google rips, Apple rips, Google rips)

At this point, neither company can be called the one who is "clean" and never ripped anyone off. It's like two toddlers fighting over a toy, it's always stupid, and it always ends badly unless someone bigger can come in and make them share.

And I mean really, who would Apple compete with if it weren't for Android? Android is the only possible competitor. Windows Phone is so horrible, people would've bit the bullet and got an iPhone no matter how much it would have cost. And BlackBerry is okay, but it's way worse than iOS. Potentially anyone could've filled the gap because a lower end cheaper phone needs to exist. At least Android does it elegantly and is actually worth using. And they don't HAVE to be low end phones. The OS itself can run on whatever it's built to run on, it just so happens a lot of those are cheaper, lower end phones, so people associate Android with useless junk.

What is with all this stuff about the iPhone being the absolute best? You know, Android is a viable competitor, and some people, like me, do prefer it more. It's not an absolute that iPhone reigns over all.

It goes farther than Schmidt leaking info about the iPhone to Google. When Google finally informed Apple of the fact that they were developing a phone, they showed Apple a prototype that looked like a Blackberry, with a half screen and physical keyboard! They purposely hid the fact that they were developing a copy of the iPhone with a full touch screen and onscreen keyboard. That's why Schmidt was asked to leave the board and why Jobs was so pissed and said that he would spend whatever it took "to right this wrong!"

Originally Posted by Quade321

I agree with everything you're saying, but intend to build upon it. Also, the iOS7 multitasker looks like the one that Android has had since Android 4.0.

But that wasn't my point. My point was, it really doesn't matter who copied who. Who cares? Take your pick. Do you like the original, or the one that's been changed? Android has almost been completely proven to have started as a ripoff. There was a dude on the Apple board from Google who saw prototypes of iOS and the iPhone. iPhone was released 2007, Android was released 2008. Supposedly there's no way, given the amount of time Google had to work with, that they could've released Android so quickly if they ripped it off from the RELEASE. So supposedly the guy on the Apple board leaked information to Google, which they then used to rip stuff off for Android. Who knows, really, because originally Android and iOS were pretty different. Android looked like one of those generic crappy touch screen interfaces we'd been seeing for a while. Also, Android was started in 2004, Google didn't buy them until a few years later. So they already had a base to build from.

I agree with everything you're saying, but intend to build upon it. Also, the iOS7 multitasker looks like the one that Android has had since Android 4.0.

But that wasn't my point. My point was, it really doesn't matter who copied who. Who cares? Take your pick. Do you like the original, or the one that's been changed? Android has almost been completely proven to have started as a ripoff. There was a dude on the Apple board from Google who saw prototypes of iOS and the iPhone. iPhone was released 2007, Android was released 2008. Supposedly there's no way, given the amount of time Google had to work with, that they could've released Android so quickly if they ripped it off from the RELEASE. So supposedly the guy on the Apple board leaked information to Google, which they then used to rip stuff off for Android. Who knows, really, because originally Android and iOS were pretty different. Android looked like one of those generic crappy touch screen interfaces we'd been seeing for a while. Also, Android was started in 2004, Google didn't buy them until a few years later. So they already had a base to build from.

But, building on my point, without Android iOS would have no competition. Without iOS, Android may or may not have even existed. Companies need to compete to keep the user happy and also to move forward. Even if Android STARTED as a rip off, in my opinion... it's kinda better now, and is definitely a lot different than iOS. (Although they still keep ripping things off back and forth. Apple rips, Google rips, Apple rips, Google rips)

At this point, neither company can be called the one who is "clean" and never ripped anyone off. It's like two toddlers fighting over a toy, it's always stupid, and it always ends badly unless someone bigger can come in and make them share.

And I mean really, who would Apple compete with if it weren't for Android? Android is the only possible competitor. Windows Phone is so horrible, people would've bit the bullet and got an iPhone no matter how much it would have cost. And BlackBerry is okay, but it's way worse than iOS. Potentially anyone could've filled the gap because a lower end cheaper phone needs to exist. At least Android does it elegantly and is actually worth using. And they don't HAVE to be low end phones. The OS itself can run on whatever it's built to run on, it just so happens a lot of those are cheaper, lower end phones, so people associate Android with useless junk.

Without android there would be no ios7 as we know it. Be thankful for that.

Is the iPhone more secure than Android? I don’t know that either.
. . .
What I do know is that making a basic statement that your OS is more secure without any backup is very weak. People shouldn’t say things unless they have something substantial to back it up.

You should have just stopped after the first sentence -- or don't write something like that and then go on to calling other 'kettles black.'

It goes farther than Schmidt leaking info about the iPhone to Google. When Google finally informed Apple of the fact that they were developing a phone, they showed Apple a prototype that looked like a Blackberry, with a half screen and physical keyboard! They purposely hid the fact that they were developing a copy of the iPhone with a full touch screen and onscreen keyboard. That's why Schmidt was asked to leave the board and why Jobs was so pissed and said that he would spend whatever it took "to right this wrong!"

Then Steve Jobs declared "thermonuclear war" blah blah blah... My point is, who cares if Android ripped off iOS? They both exist now, if one sucks and the other is good, then it'll work itself out. If the ripoff sucked, Google wouldn't have made any money, and iOS would've been king anyway. But the thing is, Android doesn't suck. It's actually pretty damn good, and it is a lot different than iOS now. Who cares how it started? Now Google also has a better policy too. Let people do whatever the hell they want. iOS is more like "NO, YU CAN'T TUCH DAT." And it's entirely open source, this is why you get all of these custom OS's that are built from the Android Open Source Project, they just give you the source code to go off of.

Back to my point, because people seem to keep misunderstanding it. Why do any of you care who ripped off who? You like your iPhone? Cool. Android isn't hurting it. In fact it's probably helping it (Not by giving Apple stuff to rip off, but by simply being there as competition). And the same is true the other way around too. You like your Android? iOS isn't doing anything to hurt it. Why does anyone care? If you have an iPhone, you don't need to worry about the Android world one bit. If you have an Android, you don't have to worry about the iPhone world one bit.

Then Steve Jobs declared "thermonuclear war" blah blah blah... My point is, who cares if Android ripped off iOS? They both exist now, if one sucks and the other is good, then it'll work itself out. If the ripoff sucked, Google wouldn't have made any money, and iOS would've been king anyway. But the thing is, Android doesn't suck. It's actually pretty damn good, and it is a lot different than iOS now. Who cares how it started? Now Google also has a better policy too. Let people do whatever the hell they want. iOS is more like "NO, YU CAN'T TUCH DAT." And it's entirely open source, this is why you get all of these custom OS's that are built from the Android Open Source Project, they just give you the source code to go off of.

Back to my point, because people seem to keep misunderstanding it. Why do any of you care who ripped off who? You like your iPhone? Cool. Android isn't hurting it. In fact it's probably helping it (Not by giving Apple stuff to rip off, but by simply being there as competition). And the same is true the other way around too. You like your Android? iOS isn't doing anything to hurt it. Why does anyone care? If you have an iPhone, you don't need to worry about the Android world one bit. If you have an Android, you don't have to worry about the iPhone world one bit.

Agreed! I'm not against Android and, from the beginning, am glad that Apple has competition. The more one company innovates, the more the other will innovate. This whole arguing thing is ridiculous.

Then Steve Jobs declared "thermonuclear war" blah blah blah... My point is, who cares if Android ripped off iOS? They both exist now, if one sucks and the other is good, then it'll work itself out. If the ripoff sucked, Google wouldn't have made any money, and iOS would've been king anyway. But the thing is, Android doesn't suck. It's actually pretty damn good, and it is a lot different than iOS now. Who cares how it started? Now Google also has a better policy too. Let people do whatever the hell they want. iOS is more like "NO, YU CAN'T TUCH DAT." And it's entirely open source, this is why you get all of these custom OS's that are built from the Android Open Source Project, they just give you the source code to go off of.

Back to my point, because people seem to keep misunderstanding it. Why do any of you care who ripped off who? You like your iPhone? Cool. Android isn't hurting it. In fact it's probably helping it (Not by giving Apple stuff to rip off, but by simply being there as competition). And the same is true the other way around too. You like your Android? iOS isn't doing anything to hurt it. Why does anyone care? If you have an iPhone, you don't need to worry about the Android world one bit. If you have an Android, you don't have to worry about the iPhone world one bit.